News

Barnsley's 'Sticky Bomb' Past Revealed

Wednesday September 14 2011

THE Experience Barnsley museum project is looking for people who might have helped make bombs in Barnsley during the war effort.

The search was prompted after Stanley Beach - who worked at Beatson Clark glass manufacturers in the 1950s - donated a 'sticky' bomb for use in the museum.

Stanley, 75, discovered the bomb in the basement of Beatson Clark when he worked there as an electrical apprentice. He said: "The chaps I worked with knew exactly what is was - the factory had made thousands of them during the second world war."

A sticky bomb was a type of hand grenade used as an anti tank weapon. It consisted of a glass sphere containing nitroglycerin covered in a powerful adhesive, and surrounded by a sheet-metal casing. When the user pulled a pin on the handle of the grenade, the casing would fall away and expose the sphere; another pin would activate the firing mechanism, and the user would then attempt to attach the grenade to an enemy tank or other vehicle with sufficient force to break the sphere.

After it was attached, releasing the lever on the handle would activate a five-second fuse, which would then detonate the nitroglycerin.

Stanley's sticky bomb is safe for display as it consists of just the glass sphere protected in a wooly cover, but the people working on Barnsley's new museum project would love more local stories about the war effort in Barnsley.

Gillian Nixon, Family History Advisor, said: "This is a highly interesting and unusual addition to the Experience Barnsley collection. It's a fantastic piece of social history and is just one example of how people in Barnsley helped with the war effort.

"We would love to hear from anyone who worked making these sticky bombs, their family members or indeed anyone who worked in Barnsley's proud glass industry."

I've worked for Beatson clark for 36 years, and that's the first time I've heard of a sticky bomb being made there, it was very interesting to know, I do hope there's no live ones still there, I haven't been to the museum yet but can't wait to go now, I'm intrigued to know.